


Not As Dark

by unendingexhaustion



Series: Critical Role Prompt Bin [1]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Light Angst, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares, Team as Family, a hint of beauyasha on the side
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-02
Updated: 2018-12-02
Packaged: 2019-09-05 13:50:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,359
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16811893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unendingexhaustion/pseuds/unendingexhaustion
Summary: Prompt: “It was a dark and stormy night, and Jester was having nightmares again. Fjord, who was lying down on the opposite side of the shed, could hear her stirring.”The company of friends makes the dark easier to bear.





	Not As Dark

Middle watch was always miserable. It seemed like the sky was trying to pour an entire ocean’s worth of water down on Fjord and Beauregard’s heads and made seeing even more difficult. At least nobody would be able to tell if he woke covered in seawater again, Fjord reflected miserably. Beau was scowling hard next to him, as if she could make the rain dissipate with sheer force of hatred alone. It was a long, cold few hours, only interrupted by the sudden boom of thunder. Nothing seemed willing to brave the storm, especially not to attack a small band of bedraggled adventurers. Fjord had never been so grateful to be startled by Caleb’s timid tap to his shoulder as he and Mollymauk came to relieve them. The tiny, ramshackle shed they were camped in had been a godsend with its intact roof, and as Fjord stepped over the threshold, he was forced to admit that it was...cozy. Probably cramped, really, if he was trying to share with anyone else, but this? This was his family. It was cozy, damn it!  


Beauregard immediately flopped down onto Mollymauk’s bedroll, claiming his residual body heat for her own and snagging the prime real estate directly beside Yasha, who was breathing deep and slow. Nott was bundled up in both her and Caleb’s bedding, snoring quietly. Jester was nestled in on Yasha’s other side, her face calm and relaxed in sleep save for a slight furrow in her brow. She was always so animated while awake, he reflected, stripping off his sodden tunic and fixing his own rumpled bedding. When she slept, he could see echoes of the Ruby of the Sea’s famous beauty, the kind that inspired paintings and sculptures and brought kings to her bed, but when Jester was awake, he couldn’t see anything but her. The way her nose crinkled when she laughed, the mischievous sparkle of her eyes… she was so full of life and light. Lulled by the drumming of the rain on the roof and the breathing of his friends, Fjord tugged his blankets higher and began to drift.  
The slight whimper from the other side of the shed cut through his doze as surely as a scream. Had something slipped past the two on watch? Was somebody hurt? His question was answered as across the room, Jester sat up abruptly and buried her head in her hands. Fjord’s gut twisted. She was hurting. Shit. Should he say something? Offer some kind of comfort? What if she didn’t want anyone to know? His internal musings were abruptly cut off as a choked sob issued from Jester’s curled form. Before he could even think, his mouth was moving. 

“Hey, Jes’?” he whispered, already half-wishing he could catch the words before they reached her.

Her already uneven breathing hitched sharply in a small, startled gasp. “Fjord?” She turned towards him, her eyes shining slightly in the dark.

“Yeah. You, uhh, you ok?”

“Oh. Um. Yes! Yes I am definitely ok Fjord thanks you can go to sleep now!”

“Y’know. It’s ok if you’re not? I mean, if you wanna talk about it…” He trailed off, uncertain. 

For a moment, the silence stretched between them, broken only by the breathing of their companions and the drumming of the rain. Abruptly, Jester stood, gathering her blankets, and began carefully picking her way around the tangle of limbs on the floor towards Fjord. A few moments and a minimum of stepped-on fingers later, she was beside him and settling into the space left by Caleb’s stolen bedding. 

Fjord cleared his throat. “So. Uh, do you? Want to talk, I mean.”

Jester didn’t respond, instead continuing to adjust her blanket nest. Great. Now what? Should he say something? Do something? His musings were interrupted by a weight suddenly pushing against his side. Apparently satisfied with the arrangement of her bedding, Jester had leaned up against his side, careful to avoid goring his shoulder where she rested her head against it. When she spoke, it was almost inaudible.  
“Do you remember when I told you about meeting the Traveler for the very first time? Well, I was very lonely back then. Not that the Traveler isn’t a great friend! We still do all sorts of fun pranks and things like that together and I hide pamphlets in places and it’s all very good!” She paused. Fjord couldn’t see her face, but he could feel the slight hitch of her breathing against his skin. He felt her next words more than he heard them, the vibrations carrying through her body and into his own.  


“He is very good, but...being with you guys is different. You’re here, in a way he isn’t. The Traveler doesn’t share pocket bacon, or lend me a button when I can’t find the one that popped off my second-best dress, or, y’know, this.” She leaned a little more of her weight against him. “I don’t think I would be ok, anymore, if I only had the Traveler again. That’s what the dream was, that all of you left me behind. I was all alone again.” She sniffed. “I don’t want to be alone. Can..can I stay here? Just for a little bit?”  


There wasn’t a reality Fjord could conceive of where he’d answer that with a ‘no’. Especially not coming from her. 

“Of course.”  


Thirty seconds later, his brain caught up with what he’d just agreed to and the awkwardness set in. Cheeks blazing, he laid back down in his bedroll and attempted to get comfortable, all the while pointedly not thinking about the fact that she was right there, settling in beside him. Gods help him, if Beauregard’s numerous complaints were to be believed, Jester was a cuddler. He took a deep breath and slowly released it. She needed him. If he died of embarrassment tonight, it would be for a good cause. Still, it was getting towards morning and it really had been a long day, even before the storm started. With the warm weight of Jester’s body up against his, Fjord finally let sleep claim him. In that hazy space between, he thought he heard her whisper something, indistinct but heavy with emotion. But then again, maybe it was just the edge of a dream.  


When he woke the next morning, Fjord was beyond grateful that he tended to be an early riser. Beau’s warnings rang true, and sometime in the night Jester had tangled herself around him like a particularly affectionate octopus that smelled faintly of pastry dough. He managed to extricate himself from her grasp just in time for Molly and Caleb to enter, avoiding what would have surely been a lifetime of teasing from his usual roommate by the grace of a few seconds. As it was, the morning peace was shattered by Mollymauk unceremoniously yanking his bedroll out from under Beau. She woke with a shout and a wildly thrown punch, and after that it was nothing but chaos. Beau’s flailing woke Yasha, who yanked Molly into a headlock, and Caleb barely managing to convince a still half-asleep Nott that no, they were not under attack, it’s just Beau and Molly being themselves at “far too early of an hour, thank you!” Beside Fjord, Jester blinked awake and arched her back in a stretch, seemingly unaffected by the commotion around her. She surveyed the scene she’d woken up to for a moment, and then turned to Fjord with a small smile. He was really only half paying attention to her, most of his awareness focused on Beauregard’s flailing. Mollymauk was using her bedroll as a hair towel, getting it thoroughly soaked. Something about turnabout being fair play and all that. Jester took the opportunity to dart in and plant a kiss on Fjord’s cheek before getting up to help prepare the group’s breakfast.  


If there was an extra spring in his step as they loaded up the cart? Well, the storm’s cleared up and that’s reason enough for anyone. (The pretty tiefling girl making his heart do somersaults with those little smiles of hers was just an extra bonus. Really.)

**Author's Note:**

> Prompted by angusgibson on tumblr. I'm unendingexhaustion over there too, so if you want something Mighty Nein related, feel free to see if I'm accepting prompts!
> 
> As always, no gods no kings no proofreading, so lmk if there's any egregious errors that pop out.


End file.
